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Located in Hampton, Thai Papaya is a hugely-popular family-run spots restaurant that has a delightful menu. This restaurant delivers an unforgettable dining experience set in a familiar atmosphere. The reasonable prices and awesome food will have you coming back for more.
Many patrons will share that Thai Papaya is known for its appetizers. There's no particular required attire, so feel free to dress comfortably. Also, though the overall price can be a bit on the low side, you won't be sacrificing any quality. In fact, you should be able to enjoy a good meal for $11 or $12, and can probably get in and out for $8 if you try.
When you arrive, you should check out the fried rice or the red curry, as either one is sure to make an impression. In terms of the restaurant itself, if you're looking for the perfect spot for a get-together between family or friends, it's been reviewed as a great local option for both big groups and families with kids. In addition to its convenient take-out menu, the restaurant even provides catering for events around town.
Specializing in lunch, Thai Papaya is a great choice when you're in the mood for Asian cuisine and want to get more adventurous than the regular ol' Chinese or Japanese fare. Don't worry about trying to find a spot on the street, as visitors to the restaurant do have access to a private parking lot nearby.

A top-rated restaurant in Hampton, Krungthai Street Grill delivers a laid-back ambience with a delicious menu. The great menu options allow visitors to focus on what matters: the awesome service and a terrific meal.
There's not really a recommended attire, so feel free to dress comfortably.
If you're on the lookout for the perfect spot for family or friends, it's been reviewed as a solid option for large groups and kids. If you're in a hurry, you can call ahead and take advantage of the convenient take-out menu. Or, if you just want to stop by for a beverage, the restaurant has a good selection at its bar.
A reputable option for lunch, Krungthai Street Grill is a great choice when you're in the mood for Asian cuisine and want to be more adventurous than the typical Chinese or Japanese fare. Don't worry about trying to find a spot on the street, as visitors to the restaurant do have access to a private parking lot nearby.

A well-known restaurant in Hampton, Gah Bua Kham is the ideal spot for a delightful menu. The familiar atmosphere and reasonable prices allow customers to focus on what matters: the awesome food.
There's not really a recommended attire, so feel free to dress comfortably.
With healthy items on the menu, there really is something for every preference and it's been described as a good option for families with children, dining on a budget, and large groups. In addition to its convenient take-out menu, the restaurant even provides catering for events around town.
Add it all up, and Gah Bua Kham is a tasty choice when you're in the mood for Asian cuisine and want to be more adventurous than the standard Chinese or Japanese fare. Don't worry about trying to find a spot on the street, as visitors to the restaurant do have access to a private parking lot nearby.

Gaubaukham Tai in Hampton is a restaurant that specializes in a delightful menu. The casual atmosphere and great menu options allow guests to focus on what matters: the perfect quality.
There's not really a recommended attire, so feel free to dress comfortably.
If you're in a hurry, you can always take advantage of the convenient take-out menu.
All things considered, Gaubaukham Tai Restaurant is definitely a good call.

If you haven't experienced Thai Erawan, it's a great time to enjoy the popular restaurant. The reasonable prices allow visitors to focus on what matters: the wonderful waitstaff and outstanding service.
No specific attire is required, so feel free to dress casually and comfortably.
With vegetarian items on the menu, there really is something for every taste.
Specializing in both lunch and dinner, chances are you won't walk away from Thai Erawan disappointed. The food, in general, is "authentic" and "good." Also, its portions are known to be "complimentary" and "good." Don't worry about trying to find a spot on the street, as visitors to the restaurant do have access to a private parking lot nearby. Would you rather pedal your way there? Bicycle parking is also provided.

Prasit "Ken" Khachenrum's culinary journey spans more than 11,000 miles. In his native Thailand, the young chef began mastering the dishes of his home soil at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bangkok. Later, after landing a position with Commodore Cruise Lines, the globetrotting Khachenrum continued plying his skills while sailing beneath the Caribbean sun. Upon deciding to settle in Washington, DC, Chef Ken worked through the city's restaurant scene on his way to becoming sushi chef at Yosaku Japanese Restaurant, opening his first restaurant in Yorktown in 2002, and finally, opening Thaijindesu.
Thaijindesu—translated from the Japanese word "romanji," meaning "Thai people"—invites guests into an elegant spiral of Thai and Japanese flavors. Chef Ken places bowls of steaming noodles and curries beside fresh rolls of sushi, uniting regional nuances on a single menu rather than uniting two menus with Velcro.

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The human palate varies widely from person to person, so determining how spicy something is by taste alone can be tricky. It’s the hypothetical equivalent of trying to measure air temperature based on how much someone is sweating. Fortunately, spiciness has its own kind of thermometer: the Scoville scale. It cuts through this sensory subjectivity by measuring the prevalence of capsaicin—the chemical compound responsible for delivering the spicy flavor—in chili peppers or foods that use them for pungent effect.Taste TestingNamed after its inventor, pharmacist Wilbur Scoville, the Scoville scale dates back to 1912. While attempting to find a suitable pepper to use in a heat-producing ointment, he developed a process called the Scoville organoleptic test, which relied on human taste-testers to judge the piquancy of different chili-pepper extracts. Subjects would taste the extract in its pure form then continue to sample it as Scoville diluted it with water. The degree to which the extract had to be diluted before subjects could no longer feel the heat determined the pepper’s placement on the scale. The resulting numbers are expressed in SHU (Scoville Heat Units).How Hot Is Hot?For comparison, here are a few touchpoints along the Scoville scale:0 SHU: bell pepper 100–8,000 SHU: most major-brand hot sauces 2,500–5,000 SHU: jalapeño pepper 5,000–10,000 SHU: chipotle pepper6,000–23,000 SHU: serrano pepper 100,000–350,000 SHU: habanero pepper; scotch bonnet pepper 500,000 SHU: red savina pepper 1 million SHU: ghost pepper 1.3 million SHU: naga viper pepper 2.2 million SHU: Carolina Reaper pepper, the current hottest in the world 5.3 million SHU: police-grade pepper spray (banned from most chili cookoffs) 16 million SHU: pure capsaicinThe Chemistry of CalienteSince sensitivity to heat can vary widely from person to person, the Scoville scale is primarily useful because it allows for easy comparison: tell someone that a ghost pepper registers one million SHUs, and they likely won’t know what that means. But telling them that a ghost pepper is roughly 200 times hotter than a jalapeño will give them a clearer idea of how much heat to expect. The question of whether that registers as tongue-scorching or just mildly unpleasant is completely dependant upon how sensitive they are to the jalapeño.Today, a process called high-performance liquid chromatography can determine the exact concentration of capsaicin, eliminating the need for human taste testers. That’s probably for the best, since it might be dangerous to test the limitations of the human tongue; in 2013, the Daily Mail reported a story of a British doctor who broke into tears and hallucinations after (voluntarily) consuming a curry that measured 6 million SHU. Sink Your Teeth Into These Other Spicy Reads:The Restaurants Serving the Hottest Peppers in the World, and the Customers Crazy Enough to Eat ThemSweating, Crying, and Smiling: The World’s Hottest Hot Sauce at The Pepper Palace

In November of 2013, the Carolina Reaper pepper was declared the “World’s Hottest Chili” by the Guinness Book of World Records. Nearly two years later, it continues to hold the title—an admirable feat in an industry filled with record chasers in constant competition to breed hotter and hotter chilies. None have managed to captivate the world quite like the Reaper, however, which has inspired countless videos of weepy-eyed men, women, and children brave (or boneheaded?) enough to try and eat one. One Bon Appétit writer went so far as to consume three whole peppers in just under 22 seconds, then documented the 14 hours of misery that ensued.
At more than 1.5 million Scoville heat units (the official measurement used to judge a chili pepper’s spiciness), the Carolina Reaper is roughly 300 times hotter than the average jalapeño. With such intense heat, it hasn’t exactly been popping up on menus across the globe—but some of its (only slightly) less spicy brethren have been torturing tongues for years.
Below, we highlighted some of the spiciest chilis available for consumption, in case you want to gradually build your tolerance to Reaper-ready levels.Trinidad Scorpion ‘Butch T’ Heat Level: 1.4 million Scoville heat units (280 times hotter than a jalapeño)Country of Origin: Trinidad and TobagoFast Fact: Gets its name from its pointed tip, which is said to resemble a scorpion stinger.Where to try it: Jake Melnick’s Corner Tap in Chicago, ILJake Melnick’s XXX wings are ignited with a hot sauce made from Trinidad scorpion peppers, ghost peppers, and habaneros. Guests tempted to try them must sign a waiver, and anyone who’s able to finish an order gets their photo on Jake’s Wall of Flame.
Naga ViperHeat Level: 1.3 million SHU (260 times hotter than a jalapeño)Country of Origin: Great BritainFast Fact: A cross between a Naga Morich, Bhut Jolokia, and Trinidad scorpion, the Naga Viper is considered an “unstable three-way hybrid,” meaning the peppers cannot produce offspring that are exactly like it.Where to Try It: Red Dog Saloon in LondonRed Dog’s hot-wing challenge presents chicken doused with fresh Naga chili sauce. Like the XXX wings at Jake’s, the Naga wings require diners to sign a liability waiver (the last line of which reads, “I am a damned fool”) before digging in. Challengers must consume 6 of the wings in 10 minutes and resist eating or drinking anything for at least 5 minutes afterward in order to get their picture on the saloon wall—a feat that has a mere 5% success rate.Ghost Pepper (aka Bhut Jolokia)Heat Level: 1 million SHU (200 times hotter than a jalapeño)Country of Origin: BangladeshFast Fact: In some parts of India, ghost peppers (which can be many different colors, including red, chocolate brown, purple, and yes, white) are reportedly used in smoke bombs designed to keep wild elephants at bay.Where to Try It: Brick Lane Curry House in New York, NYOften referred to as the “hottest curry in the world,” BLCH’s phaal curry features ghost peppers along with nine (!) other types of chilies. The fumes produced by the cooking process are so incendiary, the chef has to wear a gas mask—a process documented on Man v. Food, when host Adam Richman compared the smell’s effect to “swallowing a porcupine.”Red SavinaHeat Level: 500,000 SHU (100 times hotter than a jalapeño)Country of Origin: USAFast Fact: Held the world record for the hottest chilli for 12 years (1994–2006).Where to Try It: Lafayette Brewing Company in Lafayette, INLafayette Brewing’s hickory-smoked wings come with four dipping sauces, one of which is a barbecue sauce made with Red Savinas. These don’t come with a waiver, just a warning and an excuse to drink a lot of Lafayette’s award-winning oatmeal stout.
Scotch BonnetHeat Level: 100,000 SHU (20 times hotter than a jalapeño)Country of Origin: Not Scotland, actually. The Scotch Bonnet is found in many Caribbean Islands, as well as in Guyana, the Maldives, and West Africa.Fast Fact: The pepper’s name comes from its resemblance to a traditional tam o’ shanter hat.Where to Try It: The Rookery in Brooklyn, NYThe Rookery’s Yellow Bonnet bloody mary is unusually spicy—it gets its kick from a healthy dose of Scotch Bonnet peppers. It also has an unusual golden hue, thanks to an infusion of yellow tomatoes.Scotch Bonnet photo: Back yard plants by Jeff Vier under CC by 2.0Check out our guides to other food categories:Nine African Dishes Not to Miss
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It can be tricky to find authentic Thai food in the US. How can you tell if your favorite local Thai restaurant is serving food you might find in Bangkok? We asked food writer Leela Punyaratabandhu—the brains behind the Thai cooking blog SheSimmers and author of the cookbook Simple Thai Food—for some direction. But don’t despair if your favorite local spot deviates from these tips. There's definitely more than one way to enjoy your meal.“People should not be told how to enjoy their food,” she said. “But if you want to make the most out of your Thai meal, then eat like the Thai.”
Below, she offers up six ways to spot authentic Thai food.
1. A Menu of Thai Food and Thai Food OnlyA Thai restaurant that boasts Thai and another distinct cuisine might not be putting its best efforts into either one.“If they happen to have really good, authentic Thai food—which is not impossible, but it’s very unlikely—it makes me question why they can’t just pick one [cuisine],” Leela said. “You wouldn’t want to walk into a sushi restaurant that serves Thai food, so why would want a Thai restaurant that serves sushi?”2. The Smaller the Menu, the Better Look for a restaurant with smaller menu or one that sticks to a single region in Thailand. For an example, consider Nong’s Khao Man Gai in Portland, Oregon. The hugely popular food cart only serves a single dish: its namesake khao man gai chicken and rice. That’s a far cry from menus that list dishes from all over Thailand.“If you see green curry and red curry and pad thai and a lot of other things that don’t normally coexist, that’s rare,” Leela said. “It happens in restaurants that cater to tourists.”3. Nix the Chopsticks
“[If] you go to a Thai restaurant and they preemptively bring out a pair of chopsticks, that’s not a good sign,” Leela said. “It means they’re used to catering to people who don’t demand authenticity.” In Thailand, rice isn’t eaten with chopsticks; diners use forks and spoons. “The fork pushes the food into the spoon, transporting both the sauce and the rice. But if you transport that same bite with a fork, all the liquid falls through,” she said. “It’s even worse when you use chopsticks.”
4. Ask to See the Secret MenuWhat are the restaurant’s staff members eating? Secret-menu items.
“The real secret menu, you’re not even supposed to know about it,” Leela said. “These are the things that [staff members] know no one else but Thai regulars would order—the things they would make for themselves.” But the good stuff isn’t always hidden away. The newer generations of Thai chefs, such as Kris Yenbamroong of Los Angeles’s Night + Market, are bolder than those of the past. “They know that we have reached a point where Americans are ready for authentic Thai, and they don’t hold back anymore,” Leela said. “We have now entered the era where the things they would make in the back of the kitchen are now on the regular menu.”5. No Crab RangoonLeela hadn’t heard of crab rangoon until she came to the United States: “I have never seen crab rangoon in Thailand. Ever.” The same goes for Vietnamese-style rice-paper spring rolls, which are the US standard. “Back in Thailand, it’s a whole different thing,” she said. Authentic Thai spring rolls are made with thin, wheat-based wrappers. So if the Thai restaurant you’re at opts for these wrappers, it’s the real deal.6. Pass the Nam Pla PrikAlthough not all authentic Thai restaurants serve nam pla prik—a condiment of fish sauce and chilies—its availability is always a good thing, Leela said. “That’s a sign they they care for you in the way they cook and do hospitality.” As Leela mentioned on her blog, asking for nam pla prik is a quick way to endear yourself to the restaurant staff.Photo illustration by Mark Mills, GrouponDiscover more secrets behind quality cuisine:Leela Details the Five Soy Sauces of Thai FoodLearn about these essential, ubiquitous, and complex condiments with the help of the SheSimmers blogger and cookbook author.Four Rules to Help You Find a Great American SteakhouseHow do you tell whether steak restaurants are good or great? Look for a scrumptious baked potato and ignore the shrimp.